Calling all RED users (and not RED users as well). I have just posted a new 2 part series on dealing with upscaling RED sequences in Autodesk Smoke
This user requested topic shows how you can achieve the workflow of doing your editorial and basic effects with a small debayer setting followed by unlinking the sequence, upscaling the debayering settings and relinking everything together at the higher debayer setting. We also cover the affects of ConnectFX created before or after upscaling a sequence.
As I said, "Debayering Fun for Everyone!"You can check this out now on the Smoke Learning Channel. URL....iTunes - Do a search for the Smoke Learning Channel.
I am trying to relink still images in Smoke. I have .tif files and were taken by a still photographer. As I'm relinking to the original sources, Smoke is identifying sequential file names as image sequences and it's not available in the Potential Matches as a link option. For other stills in the same folder where there is a break in a numeric filename sequence, Smoke identifies and relinks just fine.
Is there an option to ignore image sequence identification?
I also run into this for other elements where are numbered by designers like credits_01, credits_02, etc.
The client asked me to give them a version of the Final sequence in which the colour of a looping background was slightly different so that they could compare the two. They also asked for two different pieces of music so they could test which one worked better. Before they picked the final version they wanted everything slightly shorter. The duplicates keep piling up.
Is there a way to swap put a shot in a master sequence and have it update in all the other duplicates I have made? How does one keep track of all the sequences in Smoke with all these little changes.
PS. With the audio I put the two music tracks in the sequence and muted one or the other. Dealing with different lengths of a commercial needs me to duplicate and then things start piling up.
I need to open about 50 folders and extract the image sequences within the folders from my library. A flame demo artist showed me how to do it at NAB and I can't remember how to do it now.
Backburner doesn't seem to work properly for me in the release version. I cannot export file sequences as backburner sticks on waiting. I can however export Quicktimes fine.
I know that the AJA Kona 3 card has 2 outputs. Can Smoke send one eye to one channel and the other eye to the other of the Kona 3 card? Dual Stream output is what I am really getting at.
Is there any way that Smoke can see/output sub-blacks and super whites? Can't find any way of seeing them on my scope, Smoke just clamps everything. It won't even see anything below zero in order for me to make a correction on it, everything seems to be clamped on import. I'm using ProRes HQ footage.
What is the best plugin to do spline warps in smoke?(need something like the distort in flame) I notice revisionfx don't make a warper for smoke on mac.
I am experimenting with Smoke 2013 pre-trial and I am having issues with importing images and video with alpha channels.
1. If I have a layered Photoshop file or png with an alpha channel (a still frame lower third), I see that I can import it as a multi layered clip, but what is the best way to have it in the sequence to show up properly?
2. If I have a QuickTime in animation format or Pro Res4444 format with an embedded alpha, how can I import that file to show and cut it on a top layer to animate above my video?
Does Smoke have selection functionality similar to that of Combustion? As an example, you might want to selectively blur part of an image. In Combustion, you would draw a selection and then apply an operator above the selection to achieve this. I don't see a similar selection tool function in Smoke, but I imagine you could achieve the same effect by duplicating a layer and using a Gmask via the Wipe timeline FX.does Smoke not have a selection tool similar to Combustion?
I was wondering if there is a good way to upscale a somewhat small image (say 1 inch by 1 inch) to a bit larger one (say 5 inches by 5 inches) without too much loss of quality? I'm trying to make one of those "_____ is my homeboy" shirts for a cafepress store.
I want to "remaster" my old travel movies (made with Ulead then) to VSX5 Bluray movies. I still have the old VSP file ; the photos taken with an old camera then had high enough resolution but my videos were at 240 lines then. I know that VSX5 upscales automatically to Bluray at rendering phase but what is the best way to enhance my videos to 1080 ; if done prior to rendering, will it yield a better quality movie (and if so, how do I do that ?) or do I have to leave it to VSX5 rendering phase as the only/best process . My 240 videos look ok at 240 but are currently "pixelly" when I view them on my current hdmi PC monitor at native 1080 ?
Whats the dealing with importing TWs to Smoke? I have a show that's 70% keyframed with timewarps and need a way other then baking the effect to bring it into Smoke. It's comming from FCP7 and we have Automatic Duck but neither the XMLs or AAF bring anything other then the first speed of the clip. Any way to retain the keyframes?
I have RED footage which I exported as EXR. When I import them back in, they look exactly like the RED footage. But when I import the EXR in Fusion, export it back out, and then import that EXR into Smoke, it looks brighter, although I didn't change anything in Fusion. (when I compare the EXR from Smoke and the EXR from fusion in my finder on my desktop, they look exactly the same). So what is Smoke doing with the "foreign" exr on import?I was also playing with the LUT settings. I get a result which is close, but I need to be exact.
When I export a XML from FCP 7 all of my files come over and link but there is no video with my HDV files (1440 x 1080) all of my other files (Canon FX etc) come over fine.
I converted the h.264 files to uncompressed 10bit. Bringing in the footage and XML was fine, but as soon as I resize to PAL (the timeline was changed to PAL, as was the output on the AJA) the picture starts anti aliasing in detail areas. I have processed this with every filter in Smoke with no satisfactory result.
I am having issues for a long time regarding importing XML into smoke 2013. Will try and explain you in breif.
First When we try an import XML into smoke it just doesnt do anything, in the message history box it comes up saying FOUND 0 SOURCES.
Nothing gets imported at all. No footage is imported, nothing is shown in timeline as well.
Second For a different project when the XML does get imported, the videos get imported but then again nothing is coming up in the timeline and in the message history box we get the following error.
XML Validation Failed.
Cannot process unliked media.
we have checked all the import options to make this work, including max up level and the rest but nothing is working.
I must have changed a setting because today my interactivity in CFX has taken a hit, specifically when making Axis moves. The move doesnt register until after I have made a change in the Axis field.
I know there is a setting for this but cannot remember. Am not having the same issue grabbing Axis in viewer.
I'm currently trying to conform an XML from FCP 7 into Smoke 2012 (Linux). The issue I have is that the files I want to conform with are MFX, however the files used in the FCP timeline are PRORES, therefore have a '.mov' extension. This means the Smoke is not seeing the MXF files due to the extension & the only way around it I have found, is to edit all of the '.mov' extensions to '.mxf' extensions in the actual XML. This works well, but is a complete nightmare, particularly as I'll have to do this for 13 half hour episodes!!!!
I have tried all the different combinations of Filename, Timecode, Tape, etc, but none work due to other metadata issues from the filming of the footage to it being delivered to our edit suites!!!!
Any way of making the Smoke ignore the file extension?
Can i remove the fx history ? for example i render a cfx clip. then i want to keep the render only and disconnect the relationship with its 'cfx history' . And is there any practical benefit of it ? You maybe will ask me : 'why do you wanna do it?' , my answer is " i don't know man, it just came across my mind .
All of a sudden, I'm unable to scroll through clips with real time feedback. Did I turn on some preference?
Also, I've noticed that when I'm in Action, I don't get realtime feedback going to the broadcast monitor, but rather the image catches up upon pen up. I don't see anything about it in the options in Action or global preferences.
When applying CFX to the clip it ignores resolution of the project and the time line and creates a resolution of the whole CFX based on clip.
In other words 1080 clip in 720 timeline creates CFX with 1080 out node, ( all action creates in 1080 swell) and only then send 1080 output to timeline where it applying resize soft effect. I know i can change resolution of action, but a can't change resolution of output node ( the las node that feeds output to timeline.) Is there an easy way to work around to feed lets say 720 to escape resizing in timeline.
I'm on 2012 SP3. I'm able to import and work with ProRes 422 just fine. But when I go to output and choose Quicktime, no ProRes options appear. Do I have to set this up somehow?
I'm doing far too many inadvertent moves/deletes/copies, simply by clicking pen for menu to appear, only for it to commit to whatever the pen position was at. This happening in the library area is no fun at all....not sure what the answer is really! but it's not ideal....
I just want to import some media (and do a conform) via the network. I can see everything, but it won't connect. I also don't get any error messages. I already restarted all components and they all show a green status. I don't know what else to do....
Smoke 2012 SAP2 SP4 and Smoke 2013 SP2 (Smoke Classic Keyboard Shortcuts) Mac Pro 4,1 OS X 10.6.7 12 GB RAM NVIDIA Quadro 4000 14 TB RAID (Areca)
